The Average Student Debt Of Each State, Graphed

When it comes to paying for higher education, it turns out that the amount of student debt you're saddled with has a lot to do with which state you went to college in.

Using data from The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), personal finance site HowMuch put together a chart revealing which states in the US have the highest average student debt for the class of 2017 (among students who graduated with debt):

One of the things that immediately jumps out from the chart is how the states with the highest debt burdens are concentrated in the northeast. Connecticut leads with an average student debt of $38,510, followed by Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Delaware.

According to HowMuch, states in the west have a significantly lower debt burden than other regions, with student debts averaging only $19-25 thousand. So, if you're looking for more affordable higher education option, we'd suggest you go out west and maybe try to avoid the Ivy-League schools in the northeast.

[HowMuch]